acquit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
acquits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
acquitted,
past participle, past
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acquitting
present participle
-
to relieve from a charge of fault or crime; declare not guilty.
They acquitted him of the crime. The jury acquitted her, but I still think she's guilty.
- Antonyms:
- convict
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to release or discharge (a person) from an obligation.
- Synonyms:
- free
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to settle or satisfy (a debt, obligation, claim, etc.).
-
to bear or conduct (oneself); behave.
He acquitted himself well in battle.
-
to free or clear (oneself).
He acquitted himself of suspicion.
verb
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(foll by of)
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to free or release (from a charge of crime)
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to pronounce not guilty
-
-
(foll by of) to free or relieve (from an obligation, duty, responsibility, etc)
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to repay or settle (something, such as a debt or obligation)
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to perform (one's part); conduct (oneself)
Synonym Usage
See absolve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acquitsimple
-
acquitssimple
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have acquittedperfect
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has acquittedperfect
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am acquittingprogressive
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are acquittingprogressive
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is acquittingprogressive
-
have been acquittingperfect progressive
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has been acquittingperfect progressive
Past
-
acquittedsimple
-
had acquittedperfect
-
was acquittingprogressive
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were acquittingprogressive
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had been acquittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acquit
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English aquiten, from Anglo-French, Old French (ac)quiter, derivative, with a(c)- “toward” ( see ac-), from quite “free of obligations,” from Medieval Latin quit(t)us, Latin quiētus ( see quiet); cf. quit 1
Explanation
To acquit someone is to clear them of charges. Acquitting also has to do with how you carry or present yourself. If you're accused of a crime, then the best thing that can happen to you is being acquitted — that means you were cleared or exonerated of the charges. A defense lawyer wants to have his client acquitted. But watch out for another unrelated meaning: acquitting can mean how you behave, conduct, or carry yourself. If you acquit yourself like a champion, then you're acting like a champion.
Vocabulary lists containing acquit
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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And Then There Were None
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Defense attorney Errol Cook urged jurors to acquit his client of murder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
But Rahmani said he thinks the overwhelming vote to acquit is “a clear sign” that the case should be dropped and Essayli should move on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
In the criminal justice system, jurors are entitled to acquit defendants by deliberately rejecting evidence or refusing to apply the law, often by substituting their own sense of fairness—a concept known as jury nullification.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
"We expect the court to acquit Ms Esfandiari," her lawyer Nabil Boudi told AFP before Thursday's ruling.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
In public, Katherine Goble was unfailingly gracious, optimistic, and unflappable, and she insisted that her girls acquit themselves in the same fashion.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Pitt, who gets to pour out everything Mike is feeling, acquits this imbalance well enough, but in any drama worth its coulda-been-a-contender salt, he shouldn’t have to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
Typically, a jury acquits because the prosecution has failed to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2024
Yaeger acquits himself quite well, playing a not-too-bright cop who is caught between Reynold’s cult-like stranglehold on the town and his own need for self-preservation.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2024
She acquits herself well, telling a story of persistence and courage that's laced with dry self-awareness and humour.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2023
I think when he addresses the House of Lords, which he does rarely, or a public meeting or dinner-party, which he does often, he acquits himself rather better than the ordinary county member of Parliament.
From Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches by Justin McCarthy
A Maltese businessman on trial over the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been acquitted.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The jury acquitted Hanway, forcing the government to dismiss charges against the others it had arrested.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Both have really acquitted themselves well, and the next piece is in the games and how they play,” coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters this week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
They were acquitted in July 2025 when Justice Maria Carroccia said she did not find EM's evidence "credible or reliable".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mumler was later tried for fraud and acquitted.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
A previous trial against Atkins earlier this year ended with jurors acquitting him of first-degree murder and deadlocking on a second-degree murder charge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Middleton was reportedly one of several senators considering voting to convict Paxton, although he ultimately joined the majority in acquitting him.
From Salon ● May 23, 2026
Garcia's opportunities have been limited this season despite acquitting himself well in the United States and he proved himself again.
From Barron's ● Jan. 4, 2026
Trial juries engage in nullification much more frequently, acquitting a defendant because they believe the prosecution to be unjust.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
And while acquitting his friend entirely of any such idea, Renshaw’s mind was there and then made up that by no possibility, under the circumstances, could he entertain it, and he said as much.
From Renshaw Fanning's Quest A Tale of the High Veldt by Bertram Mitford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
